Beet lifter



Oct. 2, 1945. v. N. TRAMONTINI BEET LIFTER Filed Oct. 2, 1945 2Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

V R N TWAMon/nm.

llTTO/P/YE/ Oct. 2, 1945. v. N. TRAMONTINII BEET LIFTER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 2, 1943 INVEN TOR.

VERNON N. TWA/WONT! N l- Patented Oct. 2, 1945 BEET LIFTER Vernon N. Tramontini, Chicago, Ill., assignor to I United States Beet Sugar Association, Washington, D. 0., a corporation of Utah Application October 2, 1943,'Serial No. 504,720 10 Claims. (01. s's we) My invention relates toharvesting devices and particularly to machines for lifting from the ground rootsof generally conical form such as sugar beets. 7

The broad object of my invention is the provision of mechanism, whichwhen passing along a row ofbeets growing in the field, first lifts a ribbon of soil containing the beets and then picks the beets out of the. soil and drops them on a conveyor'whichcarries them to a point of deposit. I

Specific objects include the provision of means for crumbling the soilsurrounding the beets and at the same time jostling the beets upwardly and toward the center line; and also means for seiz- 1 1 the'loosened beets Without injuring them and without regard to their varying size, and tossing them upwardly and to the side upon a conveyor.

Other objects of the invention together with the foregoingwill be made clear in the following description of my invention and the preferred embodiment of means for practicing the same,

which is illustrated in the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification. I do not limit myself to the showing made by the description and drawings, as I may adopt varia-..

tions of the preferred forms within the scope of theappended claims.

In the drawings, Figurev 1 is an elevation of my beet lifting machine and the rear end of the vehicle upon which it is carried. .The machine is shown in operation. Figure 2 isa perspective diagrammatic view, showing the rear mounting of operating parts. Figure 3 isa detail of the pneumatic lifting roll in elevation and part.

section. Figure 4. is-a detail of the rear bearing of the lifting roll. 'Figure' 5 is a plan view of the beet lifter mechanism. In all of the views parts are omitted or broken away, the better to disclose the construction.

One of the principal problems encountered in the mechanical'harvesting'of sugar beets is how to'eifect-discrimination between beets and sur-- rounding soil lumps. The most obvious physical difierences upon which such' discrimination may be mechanically founded, lies in the essentially conical shape of the beets after they are'topped, and the frangibility of the soil fragments. An- 0171761 problem is how to move the beets growing in rows in the field-into position where they can be dealt with effectively. Each of these problems is complicated by the fact that beets vary considerably in size at harvest time.

Irrespective of size however, the essentially conical. shape of the beets suggests the .path of approach to the problem which breaks down into three main steps after the beets are topped. First a broad deep ribbon of'soil containing a row ofbeets is lifted, breaking the tap roots of the beets and'leaving them upright in an elevated and crumbled ridge of soil. Next the beets are jiggled. or-jostled sideways and upwardly while at the same time the surrounding soil is broken up and beaten so that the-beets tend to float upwardly in the supporting small soil fragments, and move towarda center line. Finally the raised beets are seized between converging yielding rollers-and tossed upwardly and to the side upon a conveyor, which carries them to the point of deposit.

In Figure 1 is shown the rear end of the tractor upon which my beet lifter is mounted. Preferablya beet topper mechanism is arranged on the forwardportion of the tractor so that on one tripfdown the row, it both tops and lifts the beets.

Two cantilever arms 2, extend from the rear of the vehicle frame 3, one on each side; and on these f'r'ame arms-the harvesting mechanism is hung. Extending downwardly from each arm 2 is a bracket arm 4, near the upper and lower ends of which the shafts 6 and l are journaled.

These shafts extend transversely across the machine; the upper shaft 6 carrying near each .end a fixed arm 8; and the lower shaft 1 having near The outer ends of each end the fixed arm 9.

. the, levers 8 and 9 on each side are pivoted to a bar H, on the inwardly extending lower end of which is fixed aplow share I2. For the sake of rigidity, the bars ll preferably constitute the downturned legs of an inverted U-shaped piece. I have had excellent results with shares about 18 inches long and spaced apart about 7 inches at theirleading points and about 1% inches at their trailing points, so that as they are moved through the ground at the. proper depth, one on each side of a row of beets, va ribbon of soil containing the beets is lifted into a crumbled ridge,

the tap roots of the beets being broken and the beets left, in position to be further acted on by the mechanisms following. The depth at'which the plowshares operate is fixed by the adjustable link l3 pivoted to the arm 8 but slidably held in the arm 2.

Rigidly fixed to the arm 8 on the left side of the machine is an arm l4, between the end of which and the frame 2 is interposed a hydraulic ram I5 controlled by agear pump l6. Opposing the. action of the ram is a coil spring I! connected between the frame and lever arm.

There'is thus provided a pair of spaced plow shares sloping downwardly and outwardly, mounted for up-and-down movement and controlled by the ram and spring. When the vehicle is traveling to and from the beet row, the

ment i over a wider range thanuthateof.:the..soil. .l5

breaking and lifting devices. These devices arer'a arranged in a. roughly quadrilateral.framecoma. prising a transverse hollow bar 2 [from the ends" of which extend cylindrical side membersM22 which converge downwardly toward the rear and are'connected to the front part'ofth'e plate 23' which is shapedsomething like a horseshoe with its ends 24*folded'backand upto' connect with the fork 25,' in which the rear supporting wheel 26"is pivotally mounted-and adjustably'positioned by'the screw 21.

The" front end 'of'the-quadrilateral' frame is pivotallysupportedby-two lever arms 28, one' near'ea'chfront corner: These'arms are fixed at:

opposite ends of a shaft'29 extending across the- '30 machine and journaled'in the lower ends of the br'a'ckets l; The arm 28 011 the" left side is provided with'an'upward' extension 3 I between which and'th'e'bracketfl, is arrangedthe link 32, ad

justable in length to limit the lower'position of 3 the'supported'frame; The rear end of the frame is similarly supported from'the cantilever arm 2 by"a single link--33pivotallywonnected "to "the rear end'of thedeftsideframe member-'22'g'and to and" arewe'll on the: way toth'eir retractedposi tionsfwhen' the pivots reach'the .ends "of the slots in th'eliriks '3'!" and 38jat .which time the lever 1 arms 35 and 3|:are1pulldrback, thus raisingthe quadrilateral frame .and' its contained mechanism vehicle can be moved about; Releasing the ramwhen the vehicle is astride a row of beets, per.- mitsthe'plows"andithie" frame to settle into the soil to tl'ie'ir adjustedpositionsas determined by the linksl3 and 32"and screw 21:" In this move:

merit, the weightof the parts issupplemented byithe pull of the spring. l1. 7

Means are provided for breaking .up.. the.soil= lumps in' the crumbled .ridge turned upby the plow .shares;' and at the same time jostling or projecting forwardly from the lower portion of the rear plate 23. The top of each shaft 43 is provided with a bevel gear 48 in mesh with bevel gear 48a on shaft 52, passing through and journaled in the end of the hollow bar 2| enlarged at this point to form a housing for the gears therein. Gear 48a is also in mesh with gear 5| on the shaft 49; journaled lengthwise; in the bar v 2i. Because-thewholeframe is movable "up and 0 down, the shaft 52 is connected by means of universal joints and an extensible shaft 53 of splined sections to the drive shaft 54, suitably journaled on--a bracket fixed on the vehicle frame, and dri-venbya chainconnection 55 from the vehicle propulsion mechanism. A clutch, not shown, controlled.-byr.a lever.56;with operating link extending forwardlyto the drivers seat provides means for" starting and stopping the operation of the mechanism.

The arrangement of the parts is such that the two millei' -rolls' 46 1 lie substantially in" a. horizorrtalplane one-oneach side of "and in the rib bon of -soil tu'rned-up-by the' plowshares. The heads 42 which are runner-beveled on their lower front faces-lie in" the fu.rrow but the-bars converge-.toward'the rear wherethey arespaced closelyenpughto catch the smallest-beets. The edges of thebars'ar rounded and as -they rotate downwardly, =then toward" each other and; upwardly, they perform two distinct functions. By their milling action in the soil, it is broken up into smallfragments and spread or thrown to one side. At the same time thebeetsare -j'ostled and nudged by the'edges of the bars each contact tending. toraise'the' beet,'and pushit sideways if it is out ofl'iri'e, until both bars engage it at the same time, when 'it is lifted free .of the soil frag- V ments, into'the'range'of the overlying grab rolls 5 I'; which rotating toward each. oth'erjat the bot-i.

"tonrseize'the beet and throw it upwardly against;

the deflecting bars"62"-andjonto the..conveyor' belt; GS Z'by-Which-it-is'takerr to a hopper or..bin,. not. shown;preferably carried on an.accompanying;

Figure 3 discloses the construction. oLthegrab. I rolls fil, each of'lwhi'chcomprises a hollow, re silient, conicalbody preferablyiof ,rubher. Each 5. end ofthe roll is sealed about a metalliclflange v fi l by'a 1013,1111) BBj'lthe flanges beingtie-ht. on .a.

shaftffi'l; A standard tire.nipp1e.6 8..permits.a low pressure inflation of .the roll, 'preferablytori or. 5 lb's'yan'dl to enhance. the tractivehold 011 131187.- beetslofthe rolbsurfaceor ..tread,?.it is provided" J withja .pluralitycofelugs BBspaced' about the sunto inactive position abovetthe ground so that the. 55

face,.conveniently in longitudinally and; circuzmferentiallydisposed rowsas-best' shown in Figure 5. These i converging, pneumatic; resilient and flexiblez-rolls are very effective in "grasping :the'

beets without injury irrespective of theirivarying sizes and projecting them upwardly to" the conveyor.-;.The1.conical shape; r-ofithe rollv is dictated by I thet'highenperiphera'l speed. of the large end: By placingrethe larger :end forwardrwherethe 3 larger betsmai e seized; there is a tendencyfor theilarger-rbeets' tofbe projected at a higher speed andtoz-clear the rolls'faster than smaller -beets engagingwth'e -rolls further back. This prevents" crowding of --one beet---by-anothe'r and ha the 7 *effeotpf smoothing out th-flow'of beets'over'the 1 right-hand roll to the conveyory-so that a succession-of -beets is delivered-- upon the conveyor rather than successivegroups at intervals; Since the-largerbeetstwillbe raised-higher by the miller "'rollsyitis'alsopreferred to journal-the grab "rolls so that the leading end is somewhat higher above the ground than the rear end.

The shaft 61 on which each pneumatic roll is mounted is connected through the universal joint 'H with the shaft 52 by which the roll is driven.

At its rear end the shaft 61 is journaled in a movable spring-held bearing block 12, pivotally mounted on the plunger [3 slidably mounted in the cylinder 14 fixedly held on the rear plate 23. A spring 16 about the plunger stem 11 and interposed between the plunger and the cylinder head I8 tends to keep the plunger stem head 19 tight against the cylinder head; in which position the rear ends of the rolls are at their minimum spacing. In the event of a large beet or several smaller beets tending to jam between the rolls at any point and especially within the rear portions of the rolls, this resilient mounting aids the rolls to free themselves without injury either to the machine or to the beets.

The conveyor belt 63 may be arranged in any convenient fashion. I prefer to arrange it as shown in Figure 5, to discharge adjacent one side of the harvesting machine and preferably into a vehicle traveling alongside. The belt is relatively of short reach, the inner supporting pulley 8| being journaled in the angle of L-shaped bracket arms 82 fixed on the quadrilateral frame member 22 and the outer pulley 83 being journaled at the ends of the arms. The conveyor pulley 8| is driven through universal joint 84 by the shaft 86 connected to the shaft 52 on that side by a chain 81.

I claim:

1. A machine for lifting roots from the ground comprising a frame, plow means on the frame for raising a ridge of soil containing the roots, milling means arranged on the frame behind the plow means for reducing the soil fragments of the ridge to smaller size and for jostling the roots upwardly in the ridge, and grab rolls arranged on the frame above the milling means for seizing the raised roots and projecting them above the rolls.

2. A machine for lifting roots from the ground comprising a frame, plow means on the frame for raising a ridge of soil containing the roots, milling means disposed on the frame behind the plow means for reducing the soil fragments of the ridge to smaller size and for jostling the roots upwardly in the ridge, and a pair of converging and yielding grab rolls arranged in the frame above the milling means for seizing the raised roots and projecting them above the rolls.

3. A machine for lifting roots from the ground comprising a frame, plow means on the frame for raising a ridge of soil containing the roots, milling means disposed on the frame behind the plow means for reducing the soil fragments of the ridge to smaller size and for jostling the roots upwardly in the ridge, a pair of grab rolls arranged in the frame above the milling means for seizing the raised roots, laterally movable bearings on the frame for journaling one end of each grab roll, and means for rotating the grab rolls.

4. A beet lifting mechanism comprising a frame, a pair of spaced plow shares arranged on the frame for raising a ridge of soil containing the beets, a prismatic roll journaled on the frame behind each plow share, a pair of converging yielding grab rolls journalled on the frame above the prismatic rolls, power driven means on the frame for rotating the prismatic rolls to break up the soil fragments in the ridge of soil and jostle the beets upwardly therein, and drive means connected to the power driven means for rotating the grab rolls to seize the beets and project them above the grab rolls.

5. A beet lifting mechanism comprising a pair of spaced plow shares for raising a ridge of soil containing the beets, a, pair of converging miller rolls of square cross section with rounded corners, one of said rolls being journaled for rotation behind each plow share, means for rotating the miller rolls to break up the soil fragments in the ridge of soil and jostle the beets upwardly therein, and means for seizing and lifting the beets from the position in which the the miller rolls leave them.

6. A beet lifting mechanism comprising a frame, a pair of spaced plow shares mounted on the frame for raising a ridge of soil containing the beets, a pair of miller rolls journaled in the frame for breaking up the soil fragments in the ridge of soil and jostling the beets upwardly therein, and a pair of conical rolls journaled in the frame for seizing the beets from the position in which the miller rolls leave them.

7. A beet lifting mechanism comprising a frame, a pair of spaced plow shares mounted on the frame for raising a ridge of soil containing the beets, a pair of miller rolls journaled in the frame for breaking up the soil fragments in the ridge of soil and jostling the beets upwardly therein, and a pair of converging conical rolls journaled in the frame and having yielding surfaces for seizing the beets from the position in which the miller rolls leave them.

8. A machine for lifting roots from the ground comprising a frame, plow means on the frame for raising a ridge of soil containing the roots,

- the ground comprising spaced plow shares for raising a ridge of soil containing the roots, a prismatic milling roll journaled behind each plow share, the rolls converging toward the center line of therow, a grab roll having a yielding surface journaled above each milling roll, and means for moving the plow shares through the ground and for rotating said rolls.

10. In a machine for lifting beets from a row in the ground, a vehicle frame, a pair of spaced converging plow shares pivotally mounted on the frame for raising a ridge of soil containing the beets; a second frame pivotally mounted in the vehicle frame, a prismatic milling roll journaled in the second frame behind each plow share for reducing the soil fragments of the ridge and for jostling the beets upwardly in the ridge and toward the center thereon, a pair of converging grab rolls journaled in the second frame above the milling rolls for seizing the beets, means for rotating the milling and grab rolls, and means for raising the plow shares and the second frame relative to the vehicle frame.

VERNON N, TRAMONTINI. 

